Wednesday, June 15, 2011

25 Greatest Summer Blockbusters

We are in the middle of the summer blockbuster season, and we've already seen some major releases thus far such as Thor, Super 8 and X-Men: First Class.  We here at The Essential Films LOVE summer blockbusters, and we are going to countdown the Top 25 Greatest Summer Blockbusters.

Criteria:  The film must have been released between the dates of May 1 and August 31 and have grossed at least $100 million in worldwide box office receipts as well.

#25 - Independence Day


Director:  Roland Emmerich
Stars:  Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum
Release Date: July 3, 1996
Worldwide Box Office:  $817,400,891






#24 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl


Director: Gore Verbinski
Stars:  Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom
Release Date: July 9, 2003
Worldwide Box Office:  $652,100,000


#23 - Gladiator


Director: Ridley Scott
Stars:  Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen
Release Date:  May 5, 2000
Worldwide Box Office:  $456,200,000


#22 - Men In Black


Director:  Barry Sonnenfield
Stars:  Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones
Release Date:  July 2, 1997
Worldwide Box Office: $587,200,000




#21 - Spider-Man


Director:  Sam Raimi
Stars:  Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe
Release Date: May 3, 2002
Worldwide Box Office: $821,708,551


#20 - X2: X-Men United


Director: Bryan Singer
Stars:  Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry
Release Date:  May 2, 2003
Worldwide Box Office:  $406, 400,000




#19 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban


Director:  Alfonso Cuarón
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Release Date:  June 4, 2004
Worldwide Box Office:  $761,300,818


#18 - Batman Returns


Director: Tim Burton
Stars:  Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer
Release Date:  June 19, 1992
Worldwide Box Office:  $282,800,000


#17 - The Fugitive


Director: Andrew Davis
Stars:  Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward
Release Date:  August 6, 1993
Worldwide Box Office:  $368,700,000




#16 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade


Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars:  Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody
Release Date: May 24, 1989
Worldwide Box Office:  $494,800,000




#15 - Iron Man


Director: Jon Favreau
Stars:  Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges
Release Date:  May 2, 2008
Worldwide Box Office:  $571,827,600


#14 - The Lion King


Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Stars:  Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones
Release Date:  June 24, 1994
Worldwide Box Office:  $783,400,000


#13 - Star Trek


Director: J.J. Abrams
Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg
Release Date:  May 8, 2009
Worldwide Box Office:  $382,704,099




#12 - Inception


Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page
Release Date:  July 16, 2010
Worldwide Box Office:  $817,068,851




#11 - Spider-Man 2


Director: Sam Raimi
Stars:  Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina
Release Date: June 30, 2004
Worldwide Box Office: $783,766,341


#10 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day


Director:  James Cameron
Stars:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
Release Date:  July 3, 1991
Worldwide Box Office:  $516,800,000


#9 - E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial


Director:  Steven Spielberg
Stars:  Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote
Release Date:  June 11, 1982
Worldwide Box Office:  $756,700,000


#8 - Back to the Future


Director:  Robert Zemeckis
Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson
Release Date:  July 3, 1985
Worldwide Box Office:  $350,600,000


#7 - The Empire Strikes Back


Director:  Irvin Kershner
Stars: Mark Hammill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Release Date:  May 21, 1980
Worldwide Box Office:  $533,800,000




#6 - The Dark Knight


Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Chrisian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
Release Date:  July 18, 2008
Worldwide Box Office:  $1,001,921,825




#5 - Jurassic Park


Director:  Steven Spielberg
Stars:  Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
Release Date:  June 11, 1993
Worldwide Box Office:  $919,700,000




#4 - Raiders of the Lost Ark


Director:  Steven Spielberg
Stars:  Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman
Release Date:  June 12, 1981
Worldwide Box Office:  $383,900,000




#3 - Batman


Director: Tim Burton
Stars:  Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger
Release Date: June 23, 1989
Worldwide Box Office:  $413,200,000


#2 - Star Wars


Director:  George Lucas
Stars:  Mark Hammill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Release Date:  May 25, 1977
Worldwide Box Office:  $797,900,000




#1 - Jaws


Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars:  Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Release Date:  June 20, 1975
Worldwide Box Office:  $470,280,829


How could #1 NOT be Jaws?  It was after all the movie that created the blockbuster.